1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for use of application metadata, and more particularly, to a metadata system capable of including or cross-referencing a plurality of types of metadata.
2. Background of the Invention
Information technicians need to analyze systems, programs, and databases (“applications”) used by their enterprise. To do so, they monitor or describe various aspects of these applications. They can monitor data communicated between applications and describe data that is stored or accessible by an application. Generally, the information learned from monitoring and describing applications in these ways is called “metadata.” Specifically, the two types of information learned from these ways of monitoring and describing applications are referred to herein as types of “basic metadata,” and are described in greater detail below.
Metadata is data about data; it describes data. For example, data, such as a book in the library, e.g., Moby Dick, can be described as a novel; a work by Herman Melville; a work about whales and whalers; a work about relentless pursuit; and a work written in the 19th Century, as well as many other descriptions. In this example, the data is the text of Moby Dick and the metadata is the description of Moby Dick: the author—Herman Melville; the subject—whales, whalers, and relentless pursuits; and the time written—the 19th Century.
When a technician needs to analyze his enterprise's applications he can search through the enterprise's collection of basic metadata. But basic metadata does not contain enough information, making the technician's analysis incomplete and often flawed. This makes it difficult for technicians to alter and replace applications, keep an accurate map of their enterprise's applications, and fully represent all of the technology assets retained by their enterprise.
Also, when a technician needs to analyze an application he may need to search multiple repositories of metadata because each type of basic metadata is stored in its own repository. Each repository typically contains a search engine designed for that repository and that type of metadata. Thus, to analyze an application, often a technician will need to run a search for every repository and every type of metadata, and to do so may need to understand in detail each repository, how to use it, what kind of metadata it contains, and so on. Performing multiple searches is burdensome and requires a substantial amount of effort.
In addition, after performing multiple searches, technicians gain multiple sets of results, making it difficult for technicians to gain a good map of their enterprise. It is difficult for technicians to gain a good map of their enterprise because to do so technicians would need to compile and/or integrate the multiple sets of results into one “map,” which may require extensive effort.